Bulletin No. 55. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. 



S 
EI94 



THE FERTILIZING ?ME OF STREET SWEEPK 



AN INVESTIGATION MADE UNDER THE DIEEUTION Oi" 

H. ^V. -WILEY. 

Chief Chemist, 

BT 

EHVIlSr E. E^^teXjIj, 

First Assistant Chemist. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1898. 



C'^'^ 
\'}) 
'^m^^ 



^■^ . 




Class__^A 



Book 



«J7 



Bulletin No. 55. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



DIVISION OF CHEMISTIIY. 






THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS. 



AN INVESTIGATIOK MADE IKDEU THE DIKECTION OF 

II. W. WILEY, 

ClIIKF ClIKMIST, 



ERVIlSr Ef EW^EEE, 

Fll;ST A.SSISTANT ClIKMIST. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1898. 



"^A 



Hf^'^. 



.E'lTER OF TRANSMirrAL 



U. S. Department of Agricultuke, 

Division of Chemistry, 
Washwgton, I). C, June 21, 1897. 
Sir: I have tlie lioiior to submit for your inspection and approval 
tLe accompanying manuscript of tlie report of the investigation of the 
fertilizing value of street sweepings, which you authorized to be under- 
taken by this division on May 20, 1897. It is believed that the informa- 
tion resulting from this investigation will be of assistance to city 
officials who are seeking to extend the Uvse of street sweepings in agri- 
culture, and also be of benefit to farmers and gardeners to whom such 
materials may be available. I recommend that this report be published 
as a bulletin of this division, and that it be circulated as an aid in 
improving the methods employed for the collection of street sweepings 
and in extending their use for the maintenance of the productiveness 
of American farms and gardens. 

Eespectfully, Ervin E. Ewell, 

Acting Chief of Division. 
Hon. James Wilson, 

tSecretary, 

3 






CONTENTS. 



Page. 
Data in regard to tlio quantity and methods of disposition of street sweepings 

in the United States 7 

Circumstances wbicli determine tlie fertilizing value of street sweepings 9 

Analyses of street and alley sweepings 10 

Field tests of the fertilizing value of street sweepings 12 

Extracts from letters from farmers and gardeners who have used street 

B weepings for the fertilization of field and garden crops 12 

Further coox^eration with the division in the study of the fertilizing value of 

street sweepings invited 17 

Money value of sti'eef sweepings 17 

Miscellaneous waste products 18 

5 



THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS. 



DATA IN REGARD TO THE QUANTITY AND 3IETIIODS OF DISrOSITION 
OF STREET SWEEPINGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

In accordance with an authorization of the Secretary of Agriculture, 
dated May 2G, 1897, the Division of Cliemistry sent circular letters of 
inquiry to the ofiicials in charge of street-cleaning departments in the 
354 cities and towns of the United States having 10,000 or more inhab- 
itants. More or less complete data in regard to the disposal of the 
street sweepings of 201 cities and towns were thus obtained. Esti- 
mates of the number of tons of sweepings collected annually in 81 
of these cities were received. In compiling the data in regard to dis- 
position, the methods of disposal have been divided into three classes: 
Utilization for fertilization, utilization for filling low land, and dumping 
wherever most convenient without any regard to the possible value of 
the materials. 

In the first class are included all cities which succeed in disposing of 
some portion of their street sweepings for agricultural purposes, includ- 
ing many cases in which only a very small i)ercentage of the total 
amount of sweepings is so used. The second class includes all cases 
in which no attenij^t is made to turn to account the fertilizing value 
of the material, but in which some part of the material is used for fill- 
ing in low land, for reclaiming marsh land, etc. The third class includes 
those cities where the material is dumped in streams or other bodies vi 
water, or on land, without any systematic attempt at utilization. 

7 



A summary of tlie data obtained is presented in tlie following table, 
in wliich tlie figures for population are taken from the reports of tlie 
Eleventh Census : 



Data in rcqard to the amoiiiil of street siceepings collected in the cities of the United Slates, 
and the methods in use for their disjwsition. 





Cities reporting— 


Cities 
which fur- 
nished no 

report. 


Total for 
all cities 
to which 
inquir- 
ies were 
sent. 




Use of 
street 
swcei). 
iiigs for 
fertiliza- 
tion. 


Use of 
street 
sweep- 
ings for 
lining. 


No sys- 
tem of 
utiliza- 
tion. 


Total. 


Data in regard to methods of dispo- 
sition. 

Kumberof cities having — 

10,000 to 14,999 inliabitants 

15,000 to 24,999 iiihabitauts 

25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants 

50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants 

100 000 or more 


15 
17 
13 
10 
5 


24 
20 
16 
4 
10 


32 

19 

5 

8 

6 


71 
50 
34 
22 
21 


67 
36 
32 

8 

7 


138 
02 
66 

30 
28 






Total number of cities 


60 


74 


70 


204 


150 


354 


rer cent of total number of citiea to 


16.95 

2, 949, 509 

16.92 

49, 100 


20.00 

5, 157, 764 

29.58 

09, 700 


10.77 

3, 887, 182 

22.29 

55, 531 


57.62 

11,994,515 

68.79 

58, 790 


42.38 

5,442,882 

31.21 

30, 283 


100 


Urban population represented: 


17, 437, 397 
100 


Percent of total population of the 


Average population of the cities of 
the different groups 


49, 258 




Data in regard to the quantitx/ of street 
sweepings collected annually. 

Knmber of cities reporting tonnage, 
divided according to method of dis- 
position : 
I^ umber of cities having — 

10,000 to 14, 999 inhabitants... 
15,000 to 24, 999 inhabitants... 
25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants... 
50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants. . . 
100,000 or more 


11 
6 
4 
3 


6 

7 
9 
3 
G 


8 
4 

1 
2 
± 


21 
23 
16 
9 
13 


117 
70 
50 
21 
15 


138 
92 
66 

ao 

28 








Total number of cities 


31 


31 


19 


81 


273 j 354 


Per cent of the total number of cities 

to which inquiries were sent 

Urban population represented : 

Number of inhabitants 


8. 70 8. 76 
1,672,750 3, .159,028 

9. 59 ; 19. 84 
53,960 111,581 

174, 931 673, 791 
.104.0 194.8 


5.30 

1,173,542 

C.73 

61, 765 

216, 235 

181.3 


22. 88 77. 12 100 
0,305,320 11, 132,077 17,437,397 


Per cent of the total population 
of the 354 cities 


Average po])ulation of the cities of 
the different groups 


77 843 'If '^"7 


49 258 


Total number of tons collected annu- 
allv 


1, 064, 957 
168.9 






I^uniber of tons collected annually, 
per 1,000 inhabitants 

















From an examination of these data it appears that G8.79 per cent of 
the peoi^le in the United States living in urban communities having 
10,000 or more inhabitants were represented in the reports in regard to 
the disposal of street sweepings, while no reports were received from 
cities representing 31.21 per cent of our urban population. Of the 354 
cities to whom inquiries were sent 57.02 per cent reported methods of 
disposition, showing that among the cities reporting there was a pre- 
ponderance of those above the average size. This is also apparent 



from the figures given in tbc table for the average population of tlie 
cities in tlie different groups. 

By the reports received it is shown that the cities containing 16.02 
per cent of our urban population make more or less effort to utilize the 
fertilizing value of their sweepings. If the same proportion prevails in 
the case of the cities from which no reports were received this figure 
should be increased to 24.0 per cent. In general terms it may be stated 
that the cities representing one-fourth of the urban population of t}^;e 
country make an effort to utilize the fertilizing value of some portion 
of their street sweepings. 

The data reported in regard to the quantity of street sweepings col- 
lected annually were still less complete than the data in regard to 
methods of disposition ; only 3G.1G per cent of our urban population was 
represented in the reports in regard to the quantity of street sweepings 
collected annually. For the cities reporting, the average quantity col- 
lected annually is 1GS.9 tons per 1,000 inhabitants. Assuming this to 
be a true average for all of the cities of the United States, the total 
quantity of street sweepings annually collected may be estimated at 
not far from 3,000,000 tons. 

The data contained in the reports relating to the cost of street clean- 
ing in the various cities of the country were not sufficiently complete 
and satisfactory to justify their tabulation. In many cities the amount 
of money used for this purpose can not be separated from amounts 
used for other purposes. In other cases mere estimates were given for 
the cost per ton. The dearth of records of this sort in many cities 
renders the compiling of data impossible, and in many other cases it is 
extremely difficult to obtain complete statistical data without sending 
an agent to each city. While this would be very expensive in connec- 
tion with an investigation of this kind, it might be very economically 
and satisfactorily done in connection with our regular census enumera- 
tion. It was necessary to send a second request to many of the cities 
before some of the data which we have presented were obtained. As 
appears from the table nearly one third of the cities did not respond 
to either inquiry. 

CIECUMSTANCES 'WHICn DETERMINE THE FERTILIZING VALTJE OF 

STREET STN^EEriNGS. 

The fertilizing value of street sweepings varies greatly with the 
nature of the pavements, being practically nothing in the case of 
material taken from macadamized roads, and approaching that of good 
stable manure in the case of that collected on the hand-swept and well- 
paved streets of crowded cities. The regulations in different cities 
governing the nature of substances which may be thrown into the 
alleys and streets, and thus find their way into the material collected 
by the sweepers, vary so greatly that there is consequently a corre- 
sponding difference in the cost of sorting and preparing the material 



10 

for spreading on the land. It is believed tliat the rapidly increasing 
sentiment in favor of the careful separation and systematic utilization 
of all forms of city wastes will tend to remove this diflBculty and thus 
increase the value of sweepings, particularly of those collected in 
alleys, where the i^ercentage of miscellaneous rubbish is now often 
very gj'eat. 

In autumn the quantity and, in many cases, the quality of the street 
cleaners product is greatly increased by the falling leaves. 

ANALYSES OF STREET AND ALLEY SWEEPINGS. 



Tlie range of composition of the sweepings collected by various 
methods on well paved streets and alleys at different seasons of the 
year is quite well exhibited in the following table of analyses of typical 
sam])les of sweepings collected on the streets of Washington, D. C. 
Tbe analyses were made in the laboratory of this Division ; the nitrogen 
determinations, by Mr. T. 0. Trescot; the potash determinations, by Mr. 
George E. Patrick; and the determinations of moisture, ash, and phos- 
phoric acid, by Mr. C. C. Moore. The determination of the phosi)horic 
acid and potash contained in the organic part of street sweepings, 
without including that contained in the soil which is mixed with them, 
is not a simple problem. For the determination of phosphoric acid 
the method of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists was 
used, the solution being prepared according to method Ao (see p. 12 of 
Bulletin 40 of this Division); for the potash deternunations the ofhcial 
method was followed, with the exception of the omission of the sul- 
phuric acid used in burning off the organic matter; the official 
Kjeldahl method was used for the determination of nitrogen. 

Analyses of street and alley sweepings, etc., collected in IVashinglon, D. C. 
(Analytical data are stated in percentages of tlie original material in its moist condition.) 



Serial 
No. 



Dates on 
which 

samples 
were 
taken. 



17014 



17015 



1701G 
17019 



1898. 
Feb. 



Feb. 8 



Feb. 8 
Feb. 11 



Description of samples. 



Sweepings collected by hand on Pennsyl- 
vania avenue (asphalt pavement) aiid 
sold to a Virginia larmer for 25 cents per 
2-horse load. Tbe sample was taken from 
a pile ■which had lain on the dump at 
Twenty-first and B streets SW. for not 
more than 2 days 

Machine-collected sweepings, which were 
practically all leaves, taken from ihe 
streets in various parts of the city in the 
autumn of 1897. The s.ample was taken 
from the undecayed, dry leaves on the sur- 
face of a pile on the dump at Twenty -first 
and B streets S W. The analysis was made 
of the air-dry material 

The same as No. 17015, except that the sample 
was taken from the wet, interior, decayed 
part of the ])ilo 

Street sweepings taken from stone-block 
p.ivement on Fourteenth street, between 
B and C streets SW. First cleaning after 
the melting of the snow. Street was very 
dirty 



F.ct. 



P.ct. 



"A •■?. 



r. ct. 



1.18 
.32 



P.ct. 



C30 



r. ct. 



11 



Analyses of street and allei/ sii'ee2}ings, etc., collected in JFashington, D. C. — Continued. 





Dates on 




6 




o 


p 




.ja 


Serial 
No. 


■which 

samples 

were 


Description of samples. 




,d 




to 
o 


= «?; 






taken. 




^ 


< 


2 


a. 


Ph 




1898. 




P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P. ef. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


17020 


Feb. 11 

Feb. 23 


Street sweepings taken from asphalt pave- 
ment on B street SW., between Thirteen- 
and-a-half and Fourteenth streets SW. 
First cleaning after the melting of the 
snow. Street was very dirty 








.25 






1703 i 


Taken from stonc-blook pavement on 15 
















street NW"., between Fourteenth and 


















Fifteenth streets N W., where snow, taken 


















from otlicr parts of the citj', had been 
















May 13 


dumped and allowed to melt 








.17 






17214 


Street sweepings from tho dump at Fif- 
















teenth and C streets SW. Tho sample 


















was a composite one, made from several 


















piles, whicli were 6 to 8 months old 


43.7 


38.0 


16.3 


.39 


0.03 


0.09 


17215 


May 13 


Street sweepings from tho dump at Fif- 
teenth and C streets SW. Tho sample 
■was taken from a pile which was largely 
composed of leaves, which had lain on tho 


















dump for 6 to 8 months 


37.5 


49.3 


13.2 


.25 


.01 


.09 


17216 


May 13 


Street sweepings from the dump at Fif- 
teenth and G streets SW. The sample 
was taken from a pile which was mostly 
manure, and which had lain on the dump 
















May 14 


for C to 8 months 


28.7 


56.8 


14.5 


.32 


.08 


.11 


17218 


Machine-collected sweepings, taken from 








the dump at Twenty-first and 1! streets 


















SW. The material had lain on the dump 


















but a few days. It contained a very large 


















proportion of sand 


6.2 


76.4 


17.4 


.32 


.04 


.18 


17219 


May 14 


Tho same as No. 17218, except that the ma- 
terial appeared to consist principally of 


















manure 


10.4 


48.1 


35.5 


73 


.16 


.31 


17220 


May 14 


Fresh, hand-swept sweepings (from asphalt 
pavement) taken from the dump at 
Twenty-first and B streets SW. Tho ma- 


















terial was largely composed of manure 


39.5 


31.6 


28.0 


.55 


.10 


.37 


17221 


May 14 


Material from "sewer drops," taken from 


















the dump at Twenty-first and BstreetsSTV. 


40.5 


36.2 


23.3 


.56 


.08 


.16 


17222 


May 14 


Of the same origin as No. 17221, but the ma- 
terial had a decidedly diHerent appear- 


















ance (nearly all sand) 


29.5 


54.0 


10. 5 


.31 


. 10 


.08 


17223 


May 14 


Alley sweepings, 3 to 4 weeks old, taken at 
tho dump at Half street SE., between N 
and streets. A large percentage of 
coarse rubbish was 8e]^arated from tho 


















sample before it was prepared for analysis . . 


16.4 


66.6 


17.0 


.47 


.02 


.12 


17224 


May 14 


Decayed street sweepings, taken from the 
face of the blnff at the dump at Twenty- 
fourth and N streets NW. A composite 
eaiiiple made up of portions taken from 


















several parts of tho dump 


30.6 


49.0 


13.8 


.41 


.08 


.13 


1722.T 


May 14 


The same as No. 17224, except that the sam- 
ple was taken from a single place, which 


















appeared to be especially i iih 


30.0 


59.7 


10.2 


.39 


.06 


.17 


1722G 


May 14 


Tho same as No. 172'J0, except that the ma- 
terial had lain on the dump for 2 to 4 


















weeks 


52.3 


18.0 


29.7 


.65 


.10 


.50 


17227 


May 14 


A sample of fish refuse, taken I'romthedump 


















at Half street SE., bet ween N and streets.. 


28.1 


18.6 


53.3 


9.15 


6.79 


.05 



There seems to be a dearth of recent literature on the subject of the 
fertilizing vahie of street sweepings. J. II. Yogel published two short 
papers^ on this subject, in which he included an analysis of sweepings 

iMitteilungen tier detitschen Landwirtscliafts-Geaellscliafh, 1892, 7, 89-90, and 
Deutsche landwirtscliaftliclie Tresse, 1892, 19, 105G; Experiment Station Record, 4, 
222 and 518. 



12 

talien from the aspLalt-paved streets of Berlin. This material had the 
following composition: 

Per cent. 

Moisture • 39.89 

Ash 37.67 

Organic matter 22. 44 

Total nitrogen 479 

Animoniacal nitrogen 004 

Total phospboric acid (PjOa) 452 

Potash (KiO) 370 

Lime (CaO) 1-891 

Magnesia 347 

A sample representing the accumulation for four weeks of the 
sweepings from one of the streets of Trenton, N. J., was analyzed in 
the laboratory of the Agricultural Experiment Station of that State, 
with the following results:^ 

Per cent. 

Nitrogen 0. 18 

Phosphoric acid (PiOs) 30 

Potash (K.O) 10 

The station valued this material at 90 cents per ton. 

FIELD TESTS OF THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS. 

We have endeavored to supplement the analytical data just pre- 
sented with the results of practical tests made by farmers to determine 
the value of street sweepings as a source of plant food for field and 
garden crops, and as a source of the humus which is so necessary to a 
good mechanical condition of many soils.. Inquiries sent to farmers and 
gardeners, whose addresses were furnished by the officials in charge of 
the street-cleaning departments in various parts of the country, brought 
a number of letters containing much information on the subject, aud, 
as the following quotations will show, convincing evidence that well- 
selected and judiciously used street sweepings possess considerable 
manurial value. The letters describe some of the more successful 
methods in use for the treatment of street sweepings and for applying 
them to the soil. It will be noted that of sixteen letters only four report 
unfavorable results. 

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS FROM FARMERS AND GARDENERS WHO HAVE USED STREET 
SWEEPINGS FOR THE FERTILIZATION OF FIELD AND GARDEN CROPS. 

Atlanta, Ga., Sepiemher 7, 1S07. 
I have used street sweepings from Atlanta on my little farm with very good results. 
I find a ton of these sweepings equal to about half ton of housed stable manure of 
about two-thirds cow and one-third horse manure, provided the sweepings are gath- 
ered in the spring, fall, and winter months from clean pavements. The sweepings 
gathered in the hot summer months, taken from hot pavements with a hot sun, lose 
their fertile qualities in a great degree. As to garbage and sewage, I never used any 
as fertilizer, except Avhen small quantities of garbage would get mixed with the 

'Report of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station for 1895, page 92; 
Experiment Station Record, 8, 877. 



13 

sweepings. I have used the swccpiugs for three years, for coru, oats, ^vlieat, rye, 
and potatoes, broadcasting about twenty tons to the acre on scmiclay and sandy 
lauds. My lands have been greatly improved, ruoie thau doubling their yield. On 
a largo proportion of my land I follow the wheat, rye, and oats with a second crop 
(of corn) the same season, without additional fertilizer. * * * 

The cost will approximate about 75 cents per ton. I have no trouble with tin 
cans, and not much with paper or other rubbish. 

J. L. McCOLLUJI. 



New Ha\kx, Coxx., September 7, 1S07. 
Have used street sweeping.-!, with fair results, as a fertilizer. 

A. N. Fakniiasi. 



Atlanta, Ga., Scptcmher 8, 1S97. 

I have had experience only with street sweepings which comprise almost exclu- 
sively the droppings of horses on the streets of Atlanta paved with asphalt and 
Belgian blocks. I tirst used a half carload, or, in other words, twelve 2-horse wagon 
loads of street sweepings, on about an acre and a third (nine loads per acre), at my 
place near Marietta, 20 miles above this city. The remainder of the 5-acre tract, 
with this acre and a third, was planted in corn. In October I gathered four and a 
half 2-horso loads of corn — in other words, about 45 bushels on the acre and a 
third; and the other three and two-thirds acres only produced three and a half 
wagon loads — in other words, the very small yield of 85 bushels. It is fair to state, 
however, that the acre and a third had been planted in pease the year before, 
whereas the three and two-thirds acres had been left in 13ermuda grass, which had 
been its condition for some years. There was nothing more than a general lesson 
taught by that experience. 

Last fall, however, I broadcast the street sweepings at the rate of about thirty or 
more 2-horse wagon loads to the aero and planted the land in winter grazing oats. 
On a portion of the same tract immediately ailjoining this I placed no street sweexj- 
ings at all, although I had pease planted on the land last year. "When I thrashed my 
oats, early in June, the tract upon which the street sweepings had been broadcast 
jiroduced within a slight fraction of 50 bushels per acre, whereas on that which had 
no street sweepings I produced only 7 bushels per acre — an overwhelming proof of 
the value of street sweeinngs as a fertilizer. 

I also have a lot of corn this year, fertilized with street sweepings, which has 
been described by a number of competent witnesses as the tinest upland corn they 
liave over seen. It is proper, however, to say that, in addition to broadcasting 50 or 
more loads of street sweepings per acre on this corn laud, I also last December 
plowed the land with a turning plow, which went down about 11 inches, and fol- 
lowed this with a scooter 6 inches broad as a subsoil plow, which went an average 
of 7 inches deeper, thus making the average depth of the plowing 18 inches. I 
believe that this very deep plowing helped the coru as much as any other factor by 
reason of the storing up of moisture during the winter, ujion which the corn plant 
fed during the spring drought of forty-three days, within which period the coru of 
every neighbor I have turned yellow, while mine maintained a dark, green, healthy 
color. 

I also fertilized a piece of ground liberally with street aweei)ings and planted it 
in sorghum millet, and have what is estimated a phenomenal yield. 

Furthermore, I broadcast the street sweepings heavily, and after plowing in I 
broadcast pease, and have the statement of the State commissioner of agriculture, 
Col. R. T. Nesbitt, that it is the finest crop of pease he has ever seen in Georgia. They 
are very thick, and will average 30 inches or more in height. 

The fixirest test, however, was that of the oats shown in the early part of this letter. 

These materials cost me no more than 40 cents per ton. 



14 

I have bad but little trouble with tin cans and other rubbish mixed with the mate- 
rial. Paper I regard as an adv^antage, because, like oak leaves, it serves to retain 
the moisture in the ground. I have never used garbage ashes or garbage tankage. 

Jos. M. Broavn. 



MuxciE, Ind, Septemlcr 10, 1S97. 

I have used the street scrapings from the paved streets of Muucie for two years. 
There are 47 squares, or about 15,000 feet (linear), of paved (sheet asphalt) streets, 
and we collected from 1^ to 2 tons per day of scrapings. About one-half of the 
scrapings was scattered direct upon the land ; the other dumped off in a large pile — it 
does not heat or fire-fang. Most of that scattered direct w^as upon an old timothy 
sod, thin clay land, and shows no decided results on the present crop of corn, owing 
to the extremely dry season. That portion that was dumped into a heap I found 
rotted much quicker and more thoroughly than stable manure with bedding in it. 
I have used the rotted sweepings upon clay ground for late cabbage and sweet corn, 
and upon black loam (no sand) for onions and melons. 

We put on a heavy coat (3 to 6 inches) before plowing, then thoroughly worked it 
through with a spring-tooth harrow. 

The result was a rank growth of both cabbage and corn. Many a head of cab- 
bage was as large as a half-bushel measure, but soft. None of the cabbage hardened 
tip as it should. The corn did not ear well. For onions and melons it did better 
than for the other crops. 

I used no other fertilizer. 

The cost of the manure was the exiiense of keeping the team and wagons. The 
city paid for driver. Paper and anything that would rot we put on the ground. 

Tin cans, stones, brickbats, wire, and barrel staves were our worst nuisances, and 
were separated as loaded and unloaded. 

Stanlky Hathaway. 



Skdalia, Mo., Scpicmher 9, 1S97. 
I have had some experience iu regard to the value of the various kinds of ofial 
that accumulate an3 have to be taken from cities. I have been in the business for 
about fourteen years, and own a small piece of ground about 4 miles from the city. 
Street sweepings I regard as worth nothing, from the fact that it is tramped and 
ground until it is lifeless before it is put upon the ground where it can bo plowed 
under. It will do to fill holes or ditches, the same as straAV, and that is all. The 
garbage from alleys is worth a great deal more, such as falls behind restaurants, 
hotels, saloons, stables ; all are good fertilizers. Tin cans or old bone are good for 
orchards or grapevines or other fruits, such as berries. Dead animals, no matter 
what kind, should be buried just a few inches deep, so they do not dry up too 
quickly and give the earth a chance to absorb the fertilizing substances of the car- 
cass. Horses, mules, cows, or any large animal should bo cut in pieces and not 
placed in one pit. These are good for land that is not yet worn out. But if I 
wanted to redeem a piece of ground that is considered worn entirely out and make 
a garden of it, give me that which comes from cleaning privies. Cover the ground 
with the material and then subsoil it; then repeat the same next year. By the 
third year your ground will raise potatoes, onions, beets, radishes, beans of any kind, 
tomatoes, corn, and such, as any huckster or farmer would wish to raise. It should 
be remembered that subsoiling is one of the main things in all cases where fertilizers 
of this kind are used. The otlal from chicken houses where chickens are dressed or 
from elanghterhouses is excellent, but the ground must be subsoiled. 

W. L. Mitchell. 



15 

BiDDKFORD, Me., Septemler S9, 1897. 
As to the fertiliziug value of street sweepiugs, I have to say that I have used such 
materials but oue season on old ground, with small results. Cost of material, that 
of hauling and applying, as the city has furnished same free to all who wish. 

Jehemiau G. Shaw. 



AuxoLDS Mills, R. I., Seplemhcr 16, 1S97. 

I am at the Diamond Hill Reservoir farm of the Pawtucket Waterworks, consist- 
ing of about 500 acres of land. I have used street sweepings for four years and find 
them better than stable or horse manure, for the reason that they contain no straw 
and are ready for use at any time. The sweepings I get cost nothing except cartage 
from Pawtucket. When the city sells any the price is $2 per cord. I have used 
sweepings for corn and raised 90 bushels per acre. The first year I put on 8 cords 
to the acre, scattered broadcast and plowed in. The yield was 60 bushels per acre. 
The season was not a good one for corn. I have used sweepings for oats for fodder 
and obtained 4 tons per acre. 

I use 20 cords a year for grass. The material should be plowed in, as it dries when 
spread on the surface. The yield of grass was 2 to 3 tons per acre. This manure is 
swept up with a hand broom, so there arc no tin cans or rubbish in it. I do not use 
any other fertilizer besides the sweepings, and have no trouble in raising any crop 
I wish. 

Samukl Daijlixg. 



620 N Street, Saciiamexto, Cal., October 1, 1SD7. 

I am now putting on my laud the sweepings of the asphalt streets of Sacramento, 
which gives me about three large 2-horse loads per day. The contractor dumps 
it in a certain place, and I give him $5 per month for it. There is no straw in it, 
very little paper, and no tin cans or rubbish, as another contractor picks up the rub- 
bish, ashes, cans, straw, weeds, bottles, shoes, etc., .-ind deposits them in another 
place. I have a good deal of fiiitli in sweepings, as they seem to be in a proper con- 
dition for the roots to take hold of. I put the sweepings direct on the hop hills, 
without further pulverizing or working over. Some tell me I should compost them 
by working over and wetting them, as we have no summer showers in this section, 
our rainy season beginning in October. As we have, off' and on, four or five months 
of rainy weather, and in January and February I begin to plow the hops, I thought 
it would get in good condition for plant use without working and wetting. 

Our white labor costs about $1 a day and board. Japanese or Chinese, 80 or 90 
cents, without board. I put 4 and 5 large shovelfuls to each hill, and after going 
over all the hills, if there is a surplus, I shall put some between the hills. 

As this is my first year with the sweepings, I can not report any results. 

Daniel Flint. 



FiNDLAY, Ohio, October 33, 1S97. 
Street sweepings cost me 15 cents per load. I use them without preliminary treat- 
ment for garden crops, and consider them very valuable. 

M. M. Lowx, M. D. 



Savannah, Ga., Novemler 9, 1S97. 
Street sweepings, if put together and allowed to ferment and ripen, form a capital 
top dressing for truck gardens, etc. 

J. C. Le Haudy. 



16 

IIiGHLAND Pakk, Pittsburg, Pa., Novemher 23, 1897. 

I have been using street sweepings in the park for a period of three years and I 
find it an excellent fertilizer. It has given good satisfaction so far as we have tried 
it. The soil in the park is of a clayey nature, and I get the best results from apply- 
ing about 4 to 6 inches, owing to the quality of the soil, then cultivating, rolling, 
etc., before sowing the lawn seed. With the above treatment our lawns stand the 
drought, give a rich, green color, and are very pretty. I have not used the street 
dirt in connection with any crop other than the making of lawns. As to the cost, 
the hauling from the freight station is the only expense we have. It costs us about 
50 cents per cubic yard. 

As to the rubbish, there are some tin cans and other materials mixed through it, 

but it is a small percentage. 

Geo. W. BuitKE. 



Box 463, Pullman, III., l^ovember 29, 1807. 
I had some experience thirty-five years since in using street sweepings for a ferti- 
lizer from the city of New York, 35 miles distant, brought to the farm by sailboat, 
but found the material too bulky for the amount of fertilizing matter contained to 
pay for transportation and handling for use in growing vegetables and the ordinary 

farm crops and nursery stock. 

E. B. Hance. 



Marsiialsea, Pa., JDecemhcr 6, 1897, 
We have used street sweepings for four years and find it a fine fertilizer. In fact, 
we use no other kind. We have one 22-acre field, high ground; this field was only 
a briar patch; would raise nothing. After giving it a coat of street sweepings it 
produced a fine crop of oats, 45 bushels per acre, and a very heavy crop of English 
clover. A part of this field was not fertilized with street sweepings. The part not 
fertilized produced two-thirds less than that part of the field fertilized. Cost of 
street sweepings, $G per car freight, the street department of the city loading car 
and the insane labor at the farm unloading. We find some tin cans and other rubbish, 
but tLis is taken out when unloading car, at a trifling cost. 

Geo. Linderman. 



Lynchburg, Va., December 13, 1807. 
I have used street sweepings, and I think they are worth to a farmer about two- 
thirds as much as any stable or cow-pen manure where straw bedding is used. The 
cost of the same dei^euds on how far they are to be hauled. I never investigated 
the cost, and used them in top dressing for grapes, which I think gave fine results. 

L. F. LucADO. 



Norfolk, Va., Dccemlcr 18, 1807. 
I have been using street sweepings for several years with much satisfaction and 
profit on spinach, cabbage [compare with letter from Mr. Hathaway, of Muncie, 
Ind., given above. — E. E. E.], kale and potatoes. I haul the material on my farm 
near where I purpose using it, putting 300 or 400 loads in a heap. I then fork or 
shovel it oA'er, separating the bricks, tin cans, paper, and other rubbish as thor- 
oughly as I can (a coarse screen would be better). For spinach, I use it broadcast 
at the rate of 700 bushels per acre; for cabbage, I drill it at the rate of 500 bushels 
per acre, and ridge the land ; for potatoes, I think it better to broadcast, as for 
spinach and kale. I use from 2,500 to 3,500 carloads of 25 bushels each, and have 



17 

Tteen using it for tlio last tea or twelve years. I use, in addition, about 1,000 car- 
loads of stable manure, and as a rule 300 tons of commercial fertilizer. The street 
sweepings cost me 20 ceuts a carload at the dump. The effect on the land where 
street sweepings arc used is much more lasting than wlicre stable manure is used. 
On "gaily" places, that will not grow crox^s, such a dressing as I have named makes 
them produce good croi)S. * 

Tnos. E. Baixentine. 



Pittsburg, Pa., Dcccmher IS, 1S97. 

"We use street swecping.s very largely in our patks and with excellent results. 
We get the sweepings and dumi) them in a pile, like a manure heap, 3 to 5 feet deep, 
driving over it with the wagons, then squaring it up, leaving it sagging a little on 
top to catch water. It is left in this way for at least a year, or maybe two years, 
turned once if we have time, and then used as a top dressing on lawns, say one-fourth 
inch thick, or to mix in with soil in breaking up land, when we use it 1 to 2^ inches 
deep. It is powerful and quick in its action, and gives a capital growth of grass, 
and its effect is more lasting than that of artificial manures. 

To use it fresh is dangerous, that is, if a heavy dressing is given, and a thin 
dressing is of little use. To be of any practical benefit, it should be well rotted and 
Avell wetted, either by rain or artificial watering from the first; if stacked dry, it 
"burns." When well rotted, it forms a black mass of humus. 

We have 195 carloads of street sweejjings in one pile now, all unloaded there this 
summer; while wo were getting them we got in two to three carloads a day. They 
were emptied and the dumpings piled close by the railroad in a big heap, too big 
for their good, but we had no time then to take care of them; wo left that job till 
frosty weather, when we could haul them to a more convenient place. In unloading 
them wo throw all big sticks, stones, tin cans, leather straps, iron scrap, etc., aside. 

AVm. Falconer. 

FUETIIEK, COOPERATION WITH THE DIVISION IN THE STUDY OF THE 
FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS INVITED. 

It is hoped that the inforniivtioii contained in the quotations from 
letters given above will serve as an inducement for the extension of 
the use of street sweepings for fertilization, and also aid in developing 
the best methods for collecting, preparing, and applying the material 
to the soil. Correspondence is invited with i^ersons interested in the 
subject, or with farmers or gardeners who have made careful exiieri- 
ments in the use of street sweepings or other forms of city wastes for 
purposes of fertilization. A knowledge of their methods and results 
will be of value to others, whether their experiments are successful or 
unsuccessful. Eeports of experiments of this kind possess their maxi- 
mum value only when the purchase price and cost of hauling, preparing, 
and applying the fertilizer to the laud are stated; when a part of the 
land is left unfertilized and the crops on fertilized and unfertilized 
portions of the field are harvested and measured separately ; and when 
the net i)rofit per acre in each case is accurately stated. 

MONEY VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS. 

Without a knowledge of the results of a large number of carefully 
conducted experiments, it would be hard to determine from the results 
4G55— No. 55 2 



18 

of an analysis just wliat price per ton farmers can afford to pay for street 
sweepings in addition to the cost of hauling and spreading them on 
the land. Using the very conservative estimate of 10 cents per pound 
for the nitrogen, and disregarding the phosphoric acid and potash, the 
poorest sample analyzed, Serial Ko. 17034, would be worth 31 cents per 
ton; while the richest sample, Serial ^o. 17219, would be worth $1.4G 
per ton. The material has considerable value for many soils in addi- 
tion to the value of the plant food it contains. Gardeners declare that 
it is very useful for improving the mechanical condition of stiff and 
badly aerated soils. It would also improve the condition of very light 
soils which are deficient in moisture-holding capacity because of the 
low percentage of organic matter which they contain. 

The nitrogen of street sweepings is not as readily available as the 
nitrogen of ordinary stable manure, because of the smaller proportion 
of urine contained in the sweepings. It is a well established fact that 
the nitrogen in the urine of animals is much more readily available 
than that contained in their solid excrement. It is, therefore, very 
difficult to make an estinuite of the money value of street sweepings 
because of the great variation in their composition, which is dependent 
upon the nature of the pavements, the season of the year during whicli 
they are collected, the manner of collection, etc., and because many 
accurate field tests must be made before we can determine their exact 
value as a source of plant food. Sixteen cities reported the prices at 
which street sweepings are sold to farmers by their street-cleaning 
departments or contractors. These prices vary from 15 cents to $2 
per ton. The city of Atlanta reports a contract for the sale of the 
sweepings of their streets for $G0 per year and an arrangement which 
gives the street-cleaning department the advantage of a short haul. 
This seems to be an excellent arrangement for both parties con- 
cerned, as the average quality of the entire product of a city for a 
whole year ought not to vary greatly from year to year. Moreover, the 
price can be adjusted equitably from year to year as the true value of 
the material becomes apparent. 

The expense of hauling can be reduced in a measure by spreading 
the sweepings in thin layers on the dumping grounds and allowing 
them to dry out for a day or two before hauling them to the farm. The 
nitrogen of the material is not of such a form that serious loss would 
result from this treatment unless it be continued for several days. 
Long exposure in thin layers during a rainy season would be certain 
to cause a considerable loss of the most valuable plant food, because 
that which is most easily leached out is the most readily available. 

MISCELLANEOUS WASTE PRODUCTS. 

It may often happen that the "dumps" whence the farmer must take 
his supply of street sweepings, also contain other materials possessing 
considerable fertilizing value. Any waste animal or vegetable matter, 



19 

not coutaminatecl with the germs of diseases of men or animals, may 
very properly be tested iu regard to their value for this purpose. 
Several hundred pounds of iish refuse, of which Urn composition is 
shown iu the table of analyses on page 11, were found on one of the 
"dumps" 'in Washington, D. C. Its source cou'd not be ascertained. 
Its fertilizing value, based on data used by the experiment stations for 
the valuation of fertilizers, would vary from 80 to $32 per ton, according 
to the degree of fineness of the ground material. 



4 i 



i P '07 



